Interxion, Digital Realty's European subsidiary, is starting work on its fourth Marseille data center at the end of May - and having a Covid-safe rooftop drinks reception.

The MRS4 data center will be next door to its existing MRS3 facility and will be Interxion's third building in the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille, and its fourth overal in the city.

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Foundation stone for MRS4

The event will start at 11.30am, according to the invitation on Interxion's site. Masks will be provided and the event will be limited according to maximum occupancy rules. After speeches, and the laying of the foundation stone, guests will have drinks on the roof of MRS3, which overlooks the building site.

Speakers and guests will include Christophe Mirmand, the prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Gérard Gazay, vice-president of the Departmental Council of Bouches-du-Rhône, and Hervé Martel , chair of the board of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille-Fos - as well as David Ruberg, Executive VP Strategy at Digital Realty Fabrice Coquio, president of Interxion France

Marseille is a crucial location, as an international communications site, and a digital crossroads, with some 14 submarine cables landing there, soon to be joined by PCCW's PEACE cable which links Europe to the Middle East and Africa.

Interxion has been developing its presence there for some time, and MRS3 is its current flagship. Converted from an abandoned wartime submarine base, MRS3 opened in 2020. The PEACE cable is linked to the nearby MRS2 facility.

Interxion was bought by Digital Realty for $8.4 billion in 2019, and has been expanding fast since then with Digital's backing, despite the restrictions that were imposed due to the pandemic in 2020. Among other projects, Interxion is working on an 85MW campus in Paris, a 34MW data center in Madrid, as well as new data centers in Belgium and Switzerland. The company has also bought Greek operator Lamda Hellix.